The Chapala government anticipates operating on a budget of slightly over 216.5 million pesos during 2016. The figure is substantially lower than the 331 million budget the previous administration set for 2015.
The city council approved the projection for next year’s spending by unanimous vote at its December 14 session, one day shy of the deadline required by law.
The numbers breakdown shows 75.45 percent of the total earmarked for day-to-day operating expenditures, 11.86 percent for capital expenditures, and 10.75 percent for debt service and liabilities.
Figures on financing resources indicate that 55.44 percent of the funding will come from the federal government, 8.18 percent from the state and 36.38 percent generated by the City Hall treasury.
In a historic first, the city council’s budget commission – headed by opposition party councilmen Juan Carlos Pelayo -actively participated in crafting the budget proposal, working in collaboration with treasurer Roberto Molina and department chiefs to analyze the municipality’s finances and calculate the costs of doing business over the next 12 months.
“I believe the budget is closely adjusted to reality, but we won’t really know if it truly hits the target until the end of the next year,” Pelayo said this week.
One point of note is that the budget contemplates paying off pending settlements for numerous labor suits that have become a heavy legal and financial burden. To meet those obligations, the budget commission recommended selling off up to seven of the municipality’s real properties. In a decision that goes against one of Mayor Javier Degollado’s campaign promises, council members regretfully agreed to that option as the only way out of a pressing problem.